Murray saunters past Bogomolov

Andy Murray has advanced to the quarter-finals of the Rakuten Japan Open with a convincing 6-1 6-2 victory over Alex Bogomolov Jr.

The win, a speedy and thrifty one at that, takes the British number one to an impressive 18 wins in 19 matches record. This purple patch spans winning the Cincinnati Masters, a valiant effort at the US Open, a devastating blitz through the field in Bangkok, and on the evidence of today, serene progress in the Japanese capital. For Murray fans, it is uplifting to see him achieve degrees of consistency that have arguably not been evident since his 2009 season.

Since losing to both Bogmolov Jr and Donald Young at the start of the 2011 season, it is fair to say that Murray has exacted his revenge against both players with absolute brutality. Then again, you would expect him to, given the gulf in rankings at this point in time.

Murray's first serve was the magnum opus of the shot catalogue in this match. The Scot has a tendency to find supreme rhythm with it under a roof, and today provided more evidence for that. Routinely firing down at least two unreturnable serves per game, Bogomolov Jr could not get close, and the statistic of zero break point chances created tells its own story. Bogomolov mustered only one point against Murray's first serve, a further illustration of Murray's dominance.

Next up for the world number four is a match-up with either Ivan Dodig or David Nalbandian. It is sometimes difficult to forget that Nalbandian has been dealt with swiftly in the last few encounters, but he does pose a significant threat due to his wealth of natural ability on a tennis court.

Well done Andy.He's playing well enough to beat Rafa should they both meet in the final.It's certainly about time he made some inroads that's for sure!The question however is does he believe he can, if he does then it it's Toronto 10' again, if not then take your pick from 13 others.

Baggy, Boggy 'n Baldy..Nalbandian is vulnerable on second serve though...oops like someone else we all know....However, Andy puts so much pressure on his opponents' serves in this case he should get lots of opportunities to attack.really hoping for some delicious S. and V. which is how Andy beat Nalby last time.